Rutherford teenager admits online 'catfishing' hoax

A Rutherford teenager admitted in Newark federal court Wednesday that he lured a classmate into an online relationship with a fictitious girl he created on Facebook and made a false kidnapping report about the girl to a U.S. Embassy overseas.

Andriy Mykhaylivskyy, who is also known as Andriy Haddad, 19, pleaded guilty to making false statements in a matter within the jurisdiction of the executive branch of the U.S. government.

He faces up to five years in prison and a maximum $250,000 fine when sentenced June 25 by U.S. District Judge Claire C. Cecchi.

Mykhaylivskyy was arrested in August by agents of the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service after allegedly admitting the hoax to investigators.

Using Facebook, Twitter, texting and other electronic means, Mykhaylivskyy admitted in court Wednesday that he created a fake online identity in the name of Kate Fulton and, posing as her, started an online relationship with a then-18-year-old male classmate.

In July, while visiting Ukraine, he telephoned the U.S. Embassy in Moldova and, assuming an alias, reported that his girlfriend, Kate Fulton, had been kidnapped while vacationing in Bulgaria and that her mother had received a $50,000 ransom demand.

He also said in court that he personally pretended to be Fulton and informed the classmate that she had been kidnapped. Posing as her, he also said he sent tweets including one that read, “Someone help me.”

The duped male, meanwhile, had called the U.S. Embassy in Sofia, Bulgaria, a few days later to report that he had received text messages from the kidnapped girl.

During the plea, Mykhaylivskyy acknowledged that he knew Kate Fulton was not a real person and had not been kidnapped, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

He also admitted to an instance of obstruction of justice for contacting the classmate while in jail in August and arranging to meet with him.

The type of scam committed by Mykhaylivskyy has been referred to as “catfishing,” which involves creating an elaborate fake persona to attract a handful of victims, often causing far greater financial and emotional damage. Catfishing is growing increasingly common and is the subject of a documentary and television series.